There was a bit of clarity of the health of some Boston Bruins on Tuesday with a two-game road trip starting tomorrow.
At practice on Tuesday, Curtis Lazar was skating with the team for the first time since being sidelined with an upper-body injury a week before the start of the season. He was sporting a regular practice jersey, and stated after the session that he is “ready to go” and could be cleared to play for tomorrow.
Craig Smith, however, was not on the ice for the Bruins. Bruce Cassidy stated that he will not be traveling with the team for its matchups against Florida and Carolina on Wednesday and Thursday.
#NHLBruins Practice updates per Coach Cassidy:
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 26, 2021
Craig Smith is not on the trip, hopeful for Saturday return
Curtis Lazar practiced in full today, could be available as early as tomorrow
Linus Ullmark will get the start in net tomorrow, Jeremy Swayman set for Thursday pic.twitter.com/KH6L8xmaqO
Smith was absent from Sunday’s game against the San Jose Sharks with an undisclosed injury. While he won’t be playing the next two games, Cassidy said the team is hopeful he can return for Saturday’s game in Boston.
The return of Curtis Lazar could not come at a better time for the Bruins
The injury bug is ripping through the Bruins to start the season. The team was without Lazar for the first four games of the season, and since then, Nick Foligno, Anton Blidh and Smith have all developed injuries.
Foligno was placed on the IR ahead of Sunday’s game with an upper-body injury he sustained against the Flyers last Wednesday. The timetable for his return is unknown. Blidh was injured in Friday’s game against Buffalo and did not play against the Sharks. Neither will be making the trip down south. And now, add Smith to the list.
So Lazar’s return could not have been timed more perfectly. The Bruins have been shuffling lines two, three and four to start the season with all the injuries. They had to call up Oskar Steen and Jack Studnicka for Sunday and after sending them, have called them back up ahead of the road trip.
Lazar practiced in full on Wednesday and even if he doesn’t suit up tomorrow, he’ll be available on Thursday. It’s now shocking to see him return so early, after Lazar admitted he was very close to requiring surgery on his elbow, which would have kept him sidelined for months.
He had a fourth-line role locked down in the preseason, so it’s likely that if he’s ready to go, he’ll slide back into that role. But who knows with the way Cassidy has been forced to move pieces around.
In other notes, Linus Ullmark gets the nod tomorrow against the Florida Panthers while Jeremy Swayman will be in net against the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s two elite teams, so I don’t see the difference in starting one goalie against one specific team over the other. Both will need to be at their best.
With a tough stretch to end October and the amount of injuries Boston is dealing with, it’s great to see Lazar close to returning.